X-Play co-host Adam Sessler parts ways with G4

Official word broke this morning that X-Play co-host Adam Sessler is no longer with G4. He leaves the show and the network after 14 years of loyal service to a channel that has, for the majority of its existence, been regarded as a hyper-niche television anomaly — something you might pause on momentarily if it happened to be debuting a new Gears of War trailer or (as has become increasingly likely) a scantily clad young lady.

Other than Morgan Webb, his distaff counterpart on X-Play, Sessler has long been the most recognizable face of the network. His tenure hosting X-Play actually began prior to the existence of G4, when the network was known as ZDTV. In the transition to TechTV and then inevitably G4, the network’s ruling authority cycled through hundreds of different programs, searching for some combination of gaming, technology and decreasingly subtle sexual allusions designed to attract the hyper-lucrative 18- to 34-year-old male demographic. It should be seen as an indicator of Sessler’s charisma and hosting abilities that throughout this entire decade-and-a-half, X-Play was the only program left unscathed by G4 management.

When his departure was officially confirmed, we reached out to Sessler for his take on the situation, and to see if we could gleam some information on why he would no longer be employed by G4. In short, his response was “no comment,” though that came in the form of a typically diplomatic official statement issued by his PR representative.

Television personality Adam Sessler and TV network G4 are parting ways, with Adam’s last episode as host of G4’s “X-Play” airing on the network today, Wednesday, April 25. Adam has been hosting the show since it first aired as ZDTV’s “Gamespot TV” in July 1998 and he also served as Editor In Chief of games content at G4. His current projects include starring as himself in the Summer 2012 movie “noobz” and consulting with a film production company on theatrical feature adaptations of video games. Adam intends to stay in front of the camera and continue as a key voice within the games industry. He also sings and is available for weddings and bar mitzvahs.

Though perfectly serviceable as a notification of what’s happened here, the official response is intensely coy as to why exactly Sessler is no longer at G4. Kotaku claims that Sessler was engaged in a contractual dispute with the network and that his exodus was “not on amicable terms,” though beyond that we really have no idea what has occurred here. That said, this departure was quite abrupt, which feeds into Kotaku’s claim that Sessler left the network amidst some kind of dramatic strife.

Unfortunately, the abrupt nature of this whole thing also means that Sessler doesn’t have a thrilling, new project to promote as part of his employment shift. Normally if one leaves a relatively public position like his specifically to focus on a new professional pursuit, they make that the focus of their PR announcement. That way everyone has a positive impression of the situation and no one looks bad as a result of the change. In this case however, it reads more like a terse “things happened, I’m outta here” than anything else.

Truth be told, we won’t really know what happened here any time soon, and by the time people are ready to, and legally capable of, filling in the blanks here, we’ll likely be in an entirely different news cycle. Thus there’s nothing much to be done, except to shrug and wish Mr. Sessler all the best in whatever he does next.